مقتل ثلاثة مواطنين سعوديين في هجمات حوثية على مطار الرياض

An international airport in the Saudi capital has been hit by a second strike in as many days, officials have said. A Saudi military spokesman said a projectile had hit King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Sunday, causing a fire in one of its passenger halls. Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority said there had been injuries. It comes a day after a strike on the same airport killed 13 people and injured 308 others, following similar strikes earlier this week. Yemen's Houthi rebels, who claimed responsibility for the strikes, warned airlines and passengers against using Saudi Arabian airports and airspace. The Houthis have said they were targeting Saudi Arabia over its support for government forces in Yemen's civil war, as well as an air strike on the airport in Sanaa. Maj Gen Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition, said air defences had intercepted a missile near the airport in Riyadh, while authorities were dealing with the fire. UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting suggested the UK could "potentially" provide more support for Saudi Arabia, while US President Donald Trump said the US would "make a decision" and "move very quickly" on whether to strike the Houthis. Saturday's strike was the deadliest single attack on a Gulf Arab country since the war between Israel, the US and Iran began in February. Four Saudi nationals, two people from Bangladesh and one person each from the US, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt were among the dead, the Saudi civil aviation authority said. The Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia said on Sunday that an Indian man had succumbed to the injuries he sustained in the attack.

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen has vowed to retaliate after a suspected Houthi missile attack on Riyadh airport killed 12 people and wounded more than 300, as Donald Trump said the US could join its military campaign. Saudi Arabia blamed the Iran-allied Houthi rebel movement for the strike on the airport on Saturday, which damaged passenger terminals. It was the deadliest attack on a Gulf country since the war with Iran started in March and an apparent escalation in the Houthis’ war with Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government that it sponsors. Videos circulated on social media showing travellers walking through debris-strewn ground in the airport as sirens blared. Four Saudi citizens, two Bangladeshi nationals, a Palestinian, a US citizen, an Egyptian, a Jordanian, a Syrian and a Sudanese were killed in the missile strike. On Sunday, Saudi authorities extended the airport’s closure and said schools would be moved online until Thursday. On Saturday night, the spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, Maj Gen Turki al-Maliki, said the coalition “will respond firmly” to the attack, offering little other details. The Houthis doubled down on their threats on Sunday, warning airlines, passengers and staff to stay away from Saudi airports. The group said “the worst is yet to come” if Saudi military action in Yemen continued. “We renew our warning to all airlines, experts, employees, workers and travellers against using Saudi airports and airspace, as they are vulnerable to attack and have become a theatre of operations for our forces,” the Houthis said in a statement on X. Trump said he was evaluating whether the US would join the military campaign against the Houthis, saying on Saturday: “We’re gonna look at it.” He said he would speak to the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, on Saturday night. US involvement against the Houthis would be a further widening of the regional war that grew out of the US-Iran conflict, which so far has included fighting in Lebanon and Iraq. The US has already been assisting with intelligence cooperation and targeting, with about 200 US military advisers stationed in Saudi Arabia to assist with the campaign. Until now, the US has not directly taken part in fighting against the Houthis. Direct US involvement could lead the group to resume its targeting of ships passing through the Bab al-Mandab strait, through which about 10% of global maritime goods transit. Saudi Arabia is already carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen. The group blamed the country for two airstrikes on Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, on Sunday. The Houthi government’s health ministry said coalition airstrikes over the last six weeks had killed 91 Yemenis and wounded 168, 60% of whom it said were women and children. Saudi-backed government forces in Yemen launched a campaign to push the Houthis back from the areas the group conquered over the last month. Despite claiming initial successes, the government forces have not been able to loosen the Houthis’ grip over areas closest to the Bab al-Mandab strait such as Perim Island. The Egyptian woman killed in the attack on the airport was a flight attendant identified as Azza Ramzy, 28, who worked for the Saudi airline Flynas, according to Egyptian state-run TV. View image in fullscreen People outside a metro station on the road to King Khalid international airport in Riyadh on Saturday. Photograph: AP The Syrian woman was a widowed mother of four who had been living in Saudi Arabia for five years, a relative told the Associated Press. The Syrian embassy in Riyadh identified her as Buthaina Ahmad Oweida. Her niece, Nisreen Oweida, said her aunt was 56, from Syria’s northern Idlib province, and had left during the country’s civil war. She was living in Mecca and had been returning from a visit to her sister in Riyadh when she was killed, the niece said. The airport attack was met with a wave of international condemnation, including from the UN secretary general, António Guterres, and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. “Attacks by Iran’s proxies are pushing the region into a spiral of violence,” von der Leyen wrote on X. “They are destabilising crucial global transport and energy nodes.” The increasing intensity of Houthi attacks against Riyadh and its energy infrastructure has brought more foreign involvement in the Yemen war. Governments are facing pressure over oil prices, already high from the US-Iran war since March. On Monday, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey issued a joint statement saying they would move quickly to implement their mutual defence pact, including by speeding up the deployment of military forces in the kingdom. The UK said it would assist with defensive military support of Riyadh, providing refuelling for aircraft working to intercept Houthi missiles into Riyadh. Saudi Arabia has asked for further assistance from France, Egypt, the UK and Pakistan as its stock of interceptor missiles are running low. View image in fullscreen Houthi supporters rally in Sana’a on Friday. Photograph: Yahya Arhab/EPA The Houthis launched a military campaign to take Yemen’s Red Sea coast in early September after months of escalating tensions with the Yemeni government and its Saudi patron. The campaign interrupted years of relative calm in the country after a 2022 UN-brokered ceasefire froze frontlines between the Houthis and the government. Despite the Saudi-supported counteroffensive, the group seems to have held on to its recent gains. It is unclear what further Saudi military action would look like against the Houthis, which resisted years of strikes by an international coalition, as well as by the US. Saudi Arabia led an international coalition that intervened against the Houthis in Yemen in 2015 after the group took over Sana’a and toppled the Yemeni government. Recent Houthi attacks against Saudi energy infrastructure, as well as Houthi military advances, have pulled Saudi Arabia back into the Yemen war.

Saturday's attack on King Khalid Airport in Riyadh is another dangerous moment in a region that is already fraught with tension and conflict. Saudi Arabia wasn't ready for this. In recent weeks the Houthis have stepped up their attacks on Saudi Arabian soil, but their attacks over the past few days have hit the country's critical infrastructure in the form of the capital's main airport, apparently penetrating Saudi air defences with ease. The physical damage can be quickly repaired, but the country's reputation as a safe haven of stability is taking a battering. As well as all the airport attacks, the Houthis have sought to take control of strategically significant positions along the Red Sea coast and around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. This further increases the risk to safe navigation along the vital maritime corridor - although the Yemeni government says it has "secured" the strait. The civil war in Yemen between the country's government - which is internationally recognised and supported by Saudi Arabia - and the Houthis, who are backed by Iran, has been going on for more than a decade. It has left many thousands of people dead and plunged Yemen into one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. It is a complex and often confusing geopolitical conflict, and this latest escalation needs to be seen in the broader context of the tension between Iran, the United States and Israel.

10.28 CEST Houthis issue warning against use of Saudi airports The Houthis this morning have just also issued a warning to travellers and airlines against using Saudi airports following yesterday’s attack. It’s the first public message from the group since Saturday’s deadly assault. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said Mecca and Medina – the holiest cities in Islam - were excepted but the other Saudi airports and airspace “are exposed to targeting and constitute a theatre of operations for our forces”. He warned the public to “take our warning seriously” and also claimed that “Saudi Arabia bears responsibility for any failed interceptions”. The Gulf state has been asking the US and other Western allies for more missile interceptors since the fighting escalated. Sahree ended his post by saying his group is pursuing: “airport for airport, siege for siege, and escalation for escalation” until they achieved their goals. All week the Houthis have been striking the main airport in the Saudi capital as Saudi-led forces have stepped up an offensive trying to push the rebels back in Yemen. This week the Saudi-led coalition backing the Yemeni government forces launched an outright offensive on the Houthis who’ve rapidly seized and gained territory these past weeks. The Houthis have taken over islands in the Bab al- Mandab strait and also staked positions along the Red Sea, crucially seizing control of the passageway through which its enemy – Saudi Arabia, a top oil exporter - had been diverting flows as the Strait of Hormuz remains shut off.

An international airport in the Saudi capital has been attacked again, reports say, just days after Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed two successful attacks on the hub. King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh was evacuated after a loud blast was heard on Saturday, two international news agencies have reported. More than a dozen ambulances were seen rushing to the airport, according to Reuters, citing an eyewitness. Saudi authorities have not commented, while the airport told passengers to check with their airline before travelling there. The attack comes a day after authorities said three Saudi nationals, including a pilot, were killed in two attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis the day prior. Another three people were killed in Houthi attacks on two Saudi airports on 6 and 7 October. They came during a marked escalation in renewed fighting between Yemen's Saudi-backed government forces and the Houthis, who control most of the country's north-west. The Houthis say they are targeting Saudi Arabia over its support for government forces in Yemen's civil war. The conflict worsened after the Houthis seized strategically important stretches of the Red Sea coast in a rapid offensive. That included the port of Mokha on the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which is the narrowest point of the Red Sea and a chokepoint for global shipping. Yemeni pro-government forces have since said they had "secured" the strait at the southern end of the Red Sea. A Saudi-led coalition was formed in 2015 after Arab countries joined forces to stop the Houthis taking over Yemen from the country's internationally recognised government. A temporary ceasefire was brokered in 2022 after years of air strikes and ground fighting led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, triggering one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. But the informal truce began to unravel in July. The Houthis announced a "maritime embargo" against Saudi Arabia and began missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers in the Red Sea. They said they were retaliating against what they described as a years-long Saudi blockade and for an air strike on Sanaa airport.

Three Saudi nationals have been killed in two attacks on the international airport in the capital, Riyadh, the country's civil aviation authority has said after Yemen's Houthis said they targeted the facility. The attacks also resulted in "injuries to a number of Saudi citizens and residents of various nationalities", the General Authority of Civil Aviation said in a statement on X. It said the first attack on Thursday targeted the airport while the second one struck an aircraft belonging to state carrier Saudia. One of its pilots was among those killed, the airline said in a statement. Air traffic had returned to normal, the civil aviation authority said. Yemen's Houthi group said on Thursday it had attacked the airport with two missiles, reports said. The Iran-aligned group said it had also targeted an airport in Najran city near the Saudi border with Yemen, and Khamis Mushait air base further north. Saudi Arabia has not confirmed these attacks. The latest casualties follow the deaths of three people in Houthi attacks on two Saudi airports on October 6 and 7. Two were killed and 28 wounded in an attack at Abha International Airport, the civil aviation body said on Wednesday. Another person was killed at King Khalid airport. The latest attacks come amid mark an escalation in renewed fighting between Yemen's Saudi-backed government forces and the Houthis, who control most of the country's north-west. The Houthi military spokesperson said the previous two attacks on Saudi Arabia's airports were in "response to the Saudi aggression against our country" which saw "60 airstrikes and missile attacks in the past 24 hours". The group says it is targeting Saudi Arabia over its support for government forces in Yemen's civil war. The conflict has worsened in recent weeks, after the Houthis seized strategically important stretches of the Red Sea coast in a rapid offensive. That included the port of Mokha on the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which is the narrowest point of the Red Sea and a chokepoint for global shipping. But Yemeni pro-government forces have since said they had "secured" the Bab al-Mandab Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea. A Saudi-led coalition was formed in 2015 after Arab countries joined forces to stop the Houthis taking over Yemen from the country's internationally recognised government. A temporary ceasefire was brokered in 2022 after years of air strikes and ground fighting led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, triggering one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. But the informal ceasefire began to unravel in July. The Houthis announced a "maritime embargo" against Saudi Arabia and began missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers in the Red Sea. They said they were retaliating for what they say is a years-long Saudi blockade, and for an air strike on Sanaa airport.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis say they have struck Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh ⁠airport with a ballistic missile, badly damaging a plane and leading some airlines to suspend flights to the capital. The group provided no evidence, and Saudi Arabia did not immediately comment on the claim. However, three people briefed on the matter told Reuters that shrapnel from ​an interception or another projectile left a Saudia Airlines commercial plane heavily damaged after catching fire while parked at a terminal on Thursday. They said no passengers were believed to have been on the plane at the ⁠time but they could not rule out any injuries. Witnesses heard explosions in Riyadh, including a large blast at the King Khalid international airport. One witness told the Associated Press that fire and ambulance crews were deployed. A thick black column of smoke and flames were shown rising from the airport in a video verified by Reuters. The witness, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that outgoing flights were halted, and that passengers were instructed to evacuate the airport. Lufthansa and Air India confirmed they were ⁠suspending flights to Riyadh. According to data compiled by aviation analytics company Cirium, almost half of departures from the airport had been cancelled by 1500 GMT on Thursday, with 31 more cancellations expected for Friday in all Saudi airports. It comes after Saudi authorities said on Wednesday that three people had been killed this week in strikes on Riyadh airport and Abha airport, in the country’s southwest. The Houthis escalated their campaign of strikes against Saudi Arabia on Thursday, attempting to shut down the kingdom’s airspace and warning workers to stay away from ⁠energy plants, which would be targeted. Separately, Saudi officials said debris from an intercepted missile had hit a kindergarten and medical complex in Riyadh. The Houthis say they are targeting the kingdom over its support for government forces in ​Yemen’s reignited civil war. Saudi Arabia says it is backing an offensive by Yemen’s UN-recognised government to ‌take back territory from the Houthis. The Houthis have made a lightning advance across Yemen’s coastal plain over the last month, appearing to gain ground in the country’s south-west on Wednesday as the group approached the city of Taiz. Independent observers said earlier this week there was danger the group was on course to capture Taiz, with some signs that forces linked to the Saudi Arabian-backed government were pulling back to secure the major port city of Aden. Riyadh is due to host a major meeting of energy policymakers, the WPC Energy Congress, this week.

Three people have been killed in attacks on Saudi Arabia airports over two days, authorities said, as flare-up of fighting spilled across the Yemen border into the kingdom. Two people were killed and 28 wounded in an attack at Abha International Airport, Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation (Gaca) said in a statement on Wednesday. In a separate incident, one person was killed and eight were wounded in an attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's capital, it added. The attacks, which the Houthis have claimed responsibility for, mark an escalation in the renewed war between the Saudi-backed government forces and the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen. The two airports were attacked on 6 and 7 October, according to Gaca, which did not specify when each airport was hit. Two women, of Moroccan and Algerian nationalities, were killed during the Abha airport attack, near the Yemen border, according to Gaca. Meanwhile, a male resident of Sudanese nationality was killed at King Khalid airport, it added. The country's civil aviation authority did not name who was responsible for the attacks, but Houthi military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said its armed forces had attacked both Saudi Arabia airports with ballistic missiles and drones. The Houthi military spokesperson also said the Houthis attacked Aden's International Airport in Yemen on Wednesday. The airport is a main international gateway for parts of Yemen outside of Houthi control and has been repeatedly targeted when fighting erupts in the country. Saree said the two attacks on Saudi Arabia's airports were in "response to the Saudi aggression against our country" which saw "60 airstrikes and missile attacks in the past 24 hours". The civil war in Yemen has worsened in recent weeks, after the Houthis, who control most of the country's north-west, seized strategically important stretches of the Red Sea coast in a rapid offensive. That included the port of Mokha on the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which is the narrowest point of the Red Sea and a chokepoint for global shipping.